The Labour Government has issued a major update on the future of automated vehicles with the UK primed to bring in “revolutionary” changes.
The Automated Vehicles Act was passed through Parliament in 2024, but now the Government has launched a new programme, the Automated Vehicles Act Implementation Programme, with the goal of the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles on UK roads by 2027.
The new programme is responsible for implementing the full policy, legislative and operational implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 and aims to create a comprehensive regulatory framework to govern how automated vehicles will safely operate on the UK’s public roads.
A Government statement said: “Safe trialling of the technology and developing use cases is an essential part of the path to implementation.
We are working to support safe trialling of prototype automated vehicles on our roads and ensure the UK is the trialling destination of choice for industry. This work builds on the Code of Practice: automated vehicle trialling, delivering an automated passenger permitting route and enabling the deployment of automated passenger vehicles services.”
In terms of deployment, the stated objectives of the Implementation Programme are:
• Protect consumers, by ensuring that only vehicles that are authorised as automated under the framework can be marketed as such
• Produce the secondary legislation and guidance required to establish the Act’s regulatory framework
• Develop the safe operations of the future AV framework, ensuring that relevant government bodies are ready to fulfil the functions of the framework
• Develop processes to approve and authorise AVs and ongoing requirements to maintain the validity of this authorisation.
In terms of in-use regulation, the objectives of the AVAIP are:
• Develop in-use regulation capabilities to ensure the safe and secure deployment and ongoing roadworthiness of automated vehicles
• Develop an independent incident investigation capability to learn lessons from incidents involving automated vehicles to implement change and prevent similar future incidents
• Develop an in-use regulatory scheme to safeguard the safe and secure operation of automated vehicles
• Support safe trialling of prototype AVs on our roads and ensure the UK is the trialling destination of choice for industry – this will be achieved by building on the Code of Practice: automated vehicle trialling
• Develop and/or adapt rules on the safe use of AVs, such as through the Highway Code, driver, vehicle and service licencing and insurance.
The implementation programme is being delivered jointly by the: Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, DfT, Department for Business and Trade, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency and National Highways.
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